Forced retirement transition: A narrative case study of an elite Australian Rules football player

Δημητρίου, Ανδρέας; Jago, Andrew; Gill, Peter; Mesagno, Christopher; Ali, Lutfiye

doi:10.1080/1612197x.2018.1519839

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…There are many reasons why former professional athletes might experience depression. The transition to retirement is often difficult and it can be associated with a tremendous sense of loss ( 110 ), a void in meaning and purpose ( 111 , 112 ), and even financial hardship ( 113 ). Those former athletes who retire due to injury tend to have more difficulty with psychological adjustment to retirement than those who are more in control of their retirement decision ( 8 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predictors and Correlates of Depression in Retired Elite Level Rugby League Players

et al. 2021

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Background: There is considerable interest in determining whether later-in-life depression is associated with lifetime history of concussions or the duration of a career in professional contact and collision sports. Rugby league is a high-intensity collision sport involving a large number of tackles per game and a high rate of concussions. We examined predictors and correlates of depression in retired elite level rugby league players in Australia.Methods: Retired elite level rugby league players (N = 141, age: M = 52.6, SD = 13.8; Range = 30–89 years) completed the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS), Brief Pain Inventory, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), and Epworth Sleepiness Scale; they also reported on lifetime history of concussions. The DASS depression score was regressed on age, total number of self-reported concussions, years played professionally, CD-RISC score, BPI pain interference score, and ESS score.Results: The retired players reported a median of 15 total lifetime concussions [interquartile range (IQR) = 6–30], and a median of 8 years playing professional sports (IQR = 3.5–11). The proportion of the sample endorsing at least mild current depression was 29%. The DASS depression score was positively correlated with the DASS anxiety (r = 0.54) and DASS stress scores (r = 0.58). The CD-RISC score was negatively correlated with the depression score (r = −0.53). Depression scores were not significantly correlated with pain severity (r = 0.14), and were weakly correlated with life interference due to pain (r = 0.20) and years playing professional sports (r = −0.17). Depression scores were not significantly correlated with lifetime history of concussions (r = 0.14). A multiple regression model, with age, total number of self-reported concussions, years played professionally, the CD-RISC, Brief Pain Inventory-pain interference score, and Epworth Sleepiness Scale score as predictors was significant, with 35% of the variance in DASS depression accounted for. The two significant independent predictors of depression were lower resilience and greater life interference due to pain.Conclusions: This is the first large study of depression in retired rugby league players. Depression in these retired players was not meaningfully associated with lifetime history of concussions or number of years playing elite level collision sport. Depression was associated with current anxiety, stress, resilience, and life interference due to chronic pain.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predictors and Correlates of Depression in Retired Elite Level Rugby League Players

et al. 2021

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“…Overall, it is not entirely clear why our study results differ from some of the prior literature. Although speculative, it is possible that some current study participants with shorter playing careers were forced to retire due to injury, and qualitative case studies of forced retirement in elite athletes have found it to be associated with a sense of loss, a struggle to find meaning, and depressive symptoms ( 71 , 72 ). In other words, one possible interpretation of the association between longer elite level rugby league careers and less perceived cognitive decline in the current study is that those athletes who play for more years are able to do so, in part, because they experience fewer serious sport-related injuries, while those who retire earlier face negative mental health consequences of doing so.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Predictors and Correlates of Perceived Cognitive Decline in Retired Professional Rugby League Players

et al. 2021

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Objective: Rugby league is an international full-contact sport, with frequent concussive injuries. Participation in other full-contact sports such as American football has been considered to be a risk factor for neuropsychiatric sequelae later-in-life, but little research has addressed the mental and cognitive health of retired professional rugby league players. We examined predictors and correlates of perceived (self-reported) cognitive decline in retired National Rugby League (NRL) players.Methods: Participants were 133 retired male elite level rugby league players in Australia. Participants completed clinical interviews, neuropsychological testing, and self-report measures. The Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly, self-report (IQCODE-Self), measured perceived cognitive decline.Results: The median age of the sample was 55.0 (M = 53.1, SD = 13.9, range = 30–89) and the median years of education completed was 12.0 (M = 11.9, SD = 2.6, range = 7–18). The retired players reported a median of 15.0 total lifetime concussions (M = 28.0, SD = 36.6, range = 0–200). The mean IQCODE-Self score was 3.2 (SD = 0.5; Range = 1.3–5.0); 10/133 (7.5%) and 38/133 (28.6%) scored above conservative and liberal cutoffs for cognitive decline on the IQCODE-Self, respectively. Perceived cognitive decline was positively correlated with current depressive symptoms, negatively correlated with years of professional sport exposure and resilience, and unrelated to objective cognition and number of self-reported concussions. A multiple regression model with perceived cognitive decline regressed on age, concussion history, professional rugby league exposure, depression, resilience, objective cognitive functioning, daytime sleepiness, and pain severity showed depression as the only significant predictor.Conclusion: This is the first large study examining subjectively experienced cognitive decline in retired professional rugby league players. Similar to studies from the general population and specialty clinics, no relationship was found between objective cognitive test performance and perceived cognitive decline. Depressive symptoms emerged as the strongest predictor of perceived cognitive decline, suggesting that subjective reports of worsening cognition in retired elite rugby league players might reflect psychological distress rather than current cognitive impairment.

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“…High-performance sports and career transitions post-athletic life have been widely studied in recent decades. This research covers various phases of an athlete's career, from shifts in training locations and moving from school to higher education, to transitioning from junior to senior competition levels and retirement (Park et al, 2013;Demetriou et al, 2018;Stambulova et al, 2021). In this context, considerable attention has been directed towards researching and understanding the consequences of retirement from competitive sports for athletes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

British elite swimmers’ experiences and perspectives on life skill development

Murdoch,

Hong

2024

Front. Psychol.

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This study explores the experiences of British elite swimmers in developing life skills during and throughout their athletic careers, examining the factors that influence their perspectives on this skill development. Six high-profile British swimmers, who have competed at the Commonwealth and/or Olympic Games, were recruited for this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and thematic analysis was applied. Through the analysis, two key themes were identified from the thematic analysis: (a) Implicit life skill development through athletic and educational experience, and (b) Understanding the influence of swimming on life skill development. The first theme includes three sub-themes: (a) Establishment of athletic identity, (b) Prioritization of athletic identity, and (c) Navigating life skills through athletic challenges. The findings show that the swimming careers of participants and their associated identities contributed to the development of a wide range of implicit life skills. This growth was facilitated by both educational and sporting experiences, with all participants reporting positive personal development from their time in competitive swimming. The findings in this study enhance our understanding of life skill development and provide insights into how to more effectively support high-performance athletes in both their athletic careers and educational endeavors.

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Forced retirement transition: A narrative case study of an elite Australian Rules football player

Cited by 10 publications

References 31 publications

Predictors and Correlates of Depression in Retired Elite Level Rugby League Players

Predictors and Correlates of Depression in Retired Elite Level Rugby League Players

Predictors and Correlates of Perceived Cognitive Decline in Retired Professional Rugby League Players

British elite swimmers’ experiences and perspectives on life skill development

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